1
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
he dissembled happiness at the news that his old girlfriend was getting married—to someone else
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2
as in to dissimulate
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissemble
Building trust in companies and their leaders isn’t easy, given many decades of dissembling.
—
Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
That same week, Altman made headlines at a Senate hearing by asking to be regulated — wowing senators who were more accustomed to tech CEOs dissembling or responding evasively to questions.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
That same week, Altman made headlines at a Senate hearing by asking to be regulated — wowing senators who were more accustomed to tech CEOs dissembling or responding evasively to questions.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
Verb
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Jen has been complaining to Zac that Whitney only pretends to be her friend on camera.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
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The hypocrite pretends to be good because the hypocrite believes that society admires good and condemns wrong.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This assumes the ability to accelerate exports to more than 7 million barrels a day in the second half of the year, alongside higher payments from Aramco due to elevated crude prices.—
Alaa Shahine Salha,
semafor.com,
19 Mar. 2026
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Many people would assume the email must be legitimate.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of the biggest promises of quantum computing is the ability to simulate molecules with unprecedented accuracy.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Mar. 2026
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Dalton was immobile in the blowout loss to Buffalo, and clearly, the Panthers wanted someone who could match, or at least simulate, starter Bryce Young’s fluidity in the pocket.—
Mike Kaye
March 12,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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